Do Fifa really want Saudi Arabia to sponsor the women’s world cup?

In July and August, Australia and New Zealand are hosts of the 2023 Fifa Women’s world cup.  

It could not be a better opportunity for the sport. Football in Australia at the professional level lags well behind Australian Rules and rugby league when it comes to profile and broadcast attention. And in New Zealand the round-ball game has a permanently uphill challenge to compete with the unofficial state religion, rugby. The tournament is therefore a huge deal for the two host associations, and the culmination of years of planning and hard work. 

But it is still Fifa’s tournament, not Australia and New Zealand’s, and Fifa is a law unto itself. If its interests clash with the hosts, that’s not Fifa’s problem as far as it, and its leadership under president Gianni Infantino, are concerned. 

That’s the only way to understand the conflict between Fifa on the one side, and Football Australia and Football New Zealand on the other.